Some Spring Hill GM workers to get $7,500 bonuses

GM posts profit but falls short of Wall Street expectations

Feb. 8, 2014

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While General Motors’ fourth-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations, the company did have good news for its 48,500 hourly workers, including those at the GM plant in Spring Hill.

As part of this week’s earnings announcement, GM announced that the hourly workers will get up to $7,500 in profit-sharing checks.

“We’re elated that the team members here are sharing in the profitability of the General Motors Corp.,” said Michael Herron, shop chairman for United Auto Workers Local 1853.

“The good thing about (profit-sharing) is it directly ties the performance of the workers to the profitability of the company,” Herron said. “That’s one of the things the union really wanted to do in this restructuring.”

The Spring Hill plant was partially idled during the economic crisis, then reopened as part of a collective bargaining agreement between UAW members and GM management that closed in 2011. One of the pieces of that agreement is a structure that has resulted in larger profit-sharing checks for union workers.

Union labor is a contentious point in Tennessee. Wednesday, Gov. Haslam told The Tennessean’s editorial board that he is concerned about the involvement of the UAW in the possible unionization of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant. Specifically, Haslam said, the unionization of the plant could jeopardize the state’s ability to attract suppliers.

The GM plant in Spring Hill works with numerous suppliers in the area, countered Herron, which have not been deterred by its status as a unionized facility.

“Suppliers are in business to make money. That’s their bottom line,” Herron said. “Unionization of their customer is not a factor in the process.”

In the most recent quarter, GM rode record North American earnings to a profit of $913 million, or 57 cents per share. That compares with $892 million, or 54 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 3 percent to $40.5 billion. Excluding one-time items, including a $700 million charge to exit the Chevrolet brand in Europe, GM made 67 cents per share. But analysts polled by FactSet expected 88 cents on revenue of $40.8 billion.